The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) issued a press release back in early July that was reported on today by CNSNews.com, that included statistics for teen unemployment in the United States. Washington, D.C. leads the list, with a phenomenal average teen unemployment rate of 50.1 percent. California and Georgia were tied for second, each with 34.6 percent. The national average is 25 percent. What this means is that 1 of every 4 teenagers between 16 and 19 is unemployed across the country. Such statistics may provide a bit of explanation as to why young people are rioting and looting in the streets of London--the youth of the world have no work to otherwise occupy them.
This about broke my heart when I first read it. As the EPI explains, "the consequences for this generation of young people missing out on their first job are severe, including an increased risk of earning low wages and being unemployed again in future years."
What may be helpful here, however, is understanding the underlying cause of such statistics. "One of the prime reasons for this drastic employment drought," they continue, "is the mandated wage hikes that policymakers have forced on small businesses. Economic research has shown time and again that increasing the minimum wage destroys jobs for low-skilled workers while doing little to address poverty." Elsewhere on EPI's website (http://epionline.org/) , they explain, "For every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, teen employment at small businesses is estimated to decrease by 4.6 to 9.0 percent."
Could the answer, or at least an answer, to unemployment really be as simple as the elimination of the minimum wage? Makes sense to me. Whatever my situation, if I get hired for $4.00/hour, that's $4.00/hour more than what I would be making if I couldn't get hired in the first place, because a potential employer couldn't afford to pay me a minimum wage.
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